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Kirk Douglas asks judge for leniency on grandson's behalf

April 7, 2010 | 3:18
pm

Kirk Douglas, patriarch of the family that includes Oscar-winner Michael Douglas and recently convicted drug trafficker Cameron Douglas, has asked a judge to take it easy on his grandson when delivering the 31-year-old's sentence later this month, BBC News reports.

The 93-year-old described his visit to see his grandson behind bars: "I was gratified to see how well he was taking his incarceration. He had
no one to blame but himself. He didn't express any self-pity, nor did
he ask for any. The only sorrow he expressed was for the trouble he had
caused others."

Cameron Douglas, People
reports, faces a “mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years” in prison after pleading guilty Jan. 27 to drug charges -- but the judge has some discretion, the magazine says. Cameron's attorney is asking for time served plus
supervised release, or a sentence of just less than four years that would include drug
treatment -- the argument being that his client became a meth middleman only to support his own heroin habit.

A letter from Michael Douglas ...

... was not made public by the court, though the record included input from Catherine Zeta-Jones, who called her
stepson "an exceptional brother" to his half-siblings.

Also, a partially redacted appeal from Diandra Douglas, Cameron's mom, was offered: "[T]his is the most painful letter I've ever had to write. I am writing to
you to plead for leniency in your sentencing of my son, the only blood
relative I have left in this world." The New York Daily News noted this passage: "I must admit that my immediate reaction when I learned of my son's
crime was one of guilt." She blamed herself, in part, for mistakes she made raising her son -- whose lawyers have placed blame for Cameron's drug addiction on his father's fame.

"Pappy" Kirk, at the end of his letter, took aim at the court's heartstrings: "I'm convinced Cameron could be a
fine actor. ... I hope I can see that happen before I die. I love
Cameron."